Becky Can't Dance
by MeMyselfandI2008
Summary: As the title says, Becky can't dance, and everyone knows it. However, when Tobey sees her dancing, he gives a very unexpected reaction. [Cross-Posted on AO3 & Wattpad]


Becky had always considered herself an okay dancer, or at least average, but after a while of taking in people's reactions to her "skill," she started to gain some self-consciousness whenever she was forced to dance, even when she was dancing for fun, she still couldn't help feeling uneasy.

So, you can imagine her hesitation when Violet asked her to join in on one of their school dances.

The pair were walking towards Becky's house when Violet had suddenly dropped the question. Becky paused her walk, feeling her stomach twist at the thought of going to the dance. Violet gave her a worried look, frowning lightly in concern, waiting patiently for Becky to respond.

"I don't know," Becky finally spoke up after a minute of silence, turning her gaze to the sidewalk, "I mean," she began, digging her heel into the concrete and rubbing her arm, "I'm kind of… I'm not really a good dancer, so if I did go, there wouldn't be much I could do," she turned her attention back to Violet, "I'm kind of self-conscious about it…" she quietly added, offering a nervous smile and chuckle.

"Self-conscious?" Violet questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, self-conscious!" Becky explained, practically jumping at the opportunity to define a word, "When you feel aware of yourself, your appearance or your actions," she gestured to herself, "For example, I am very self-conscious about my artwork."

"Ah, okay," Violet nodded in understanding, "Uh, but, you shouldn't feel that way, Becky," she tried to reassure, pulling a ticket from her pocket and holding it out towards Becky, "There will be a lot of people dancing, and not everyone is a good dancer," she offered a reassuring smile, "Plus, there'll be other stuff at the dance, like game tables and free food, and I already bought you a ticket…" she trailed off at the last bit, suddenly feeling guilty. She wasn't pressuring Becky to go was she?

Becky hummed in thought, taking the ticket from Violet, "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt," she muttered, a small smile on her face, "At least I won't be alone," she lightly nudged Violet in the arm with her elbow, "With you there, I don't think it'll be as bad!" she chirped.

Violet returned the smile, relieved that Becky wasn't feeling pressured to go, "I'll have my mom pick you up at eight," she informed.

"Alright, cool!"

—

"Well, what do you think?" Becky asked, turning her focus to the narrator and gesturing to her outfit, "Too simple?"

Becky was sporting a nice, blue dress shirt with a black skirt and her normal shoes.

"I think it looks nice," the narrator replied, "But why are you asking me?" he couldn't help but inquire, curiously.

She gave a small shrug in reply, "Just a little nervous, I guess," she explained, "I mean, Scoops will be there," she sighed thoughtfully, "I know he likes Violet, but…" she trailed off, briefly fixing the clip in her hair that pulled it back into a half-ponytail.

"I don't think you have to worry much about it," the narrator hummed, "Besides, someone else will think you look, and I quote, "absolutely breathtaking.""

Becky couldn't help but smile, an excitement in her eyes "Really? Who?" she quickly asked, practically bouncing on her heels.

"I'm the narrator, I've been sworn to secrecy," the disembodied voice stated, simply, "And I wouldn't want to embarrass him."

"It's a him!" Becky's smile widened, "Is it Scoops?"

"I already said I'm not telling."

"Becky, are you ready to go! Violet is here to pick you up!" Sally's voice came from downstairs.

"Coming mom!" Becky called. She turned her gaze back to the narrator, "We're not done with this conversation," she quietly stated, quickly heading downstairs to see Violet.

—

Once Violet and Becky arrived at the dance, they immediately ran into Scoops, who greeted them and asked if either of them wanted to dance. Violet was hesitant to accept, as she didn't want to leave Becky all by herself right when they got there, but Becky offered her a reassuring smile and said she'd see them in a few songs.

Now, here she was, sitting at one of the empty tables, watching Scoops and Violet enjoy themselves and exchange conversation. She sighed, sitting back in her seat.

"Jealous?" the narrator asked.

"Maybe a little…" she muttered in reply, fiddling with the hem of her shirt, "I just wish I was good at dancing, you know?" she turned her gaze to the narrator, a dejected look in her eyes, "I'm good at a lot of other things, so why do I suck at dancing?"

A few feet away, Tobey watched Becky converse with herself—probably talking with the narrator. He hated himself for staring at her, but he had to admit, she was absolutely breathtaking. Not as breathtaking as WordGirl, but just about…

He adjusted his red tie, taking a deep breath and combing a hand through his hair to slick it back, but it just fell back into how it was before. He started his casual approach towards Becky, debating on how he should greet her. Perhaps a snide comment? Just a standard greeting? Play it cool?

"What brings you here, Becky," he asked, leaning against the table and raising an eyebrow. Cool it was.

Becky rolled her eyes, "You know, I could ask you the same thing, Tobey," she replied, leaning back in her chair.

"Well, I'm here by force," Tobey explained, gesturing in the direction his mother stood, "She offered to chaperone, resulting in me coming to this…" he trailed off, briefly glancing around his surroundings in mild disgust, "Horrendousness," he stated flatly.

The explanation earned a light laugh from Becky, "Yeah, well, I wouldn't go that far, but it's definitely unpleasant," she replied, giving a light shrug.

"Oh, by the by, where are your little friends?" Tobey inquired, stealing the empty seat beside Becky, "You know, the reporter and the artsy one. I'd have thought the three of you would be inseparable—"

Becky cut him short by pointing at the pair enjoying themselves on the dance floor, "They're over there," she hummed, ignoring the way her stomach twisted with unease at the thought of being out there with them.

"And they just left you here alone?" Tobey asked, the question surprisingly genuine, flicking his gaze from Violet and Scoops to Becky, who looked rather nice in the dim, multicolored lights that reflected off of the various people in the room.

Becky scuffed, crossing her arms and turning away from Tobey, "Not that it's any of your business…" she muttered, "But the reason I'm not with them is because I'm not very good at dancing," she admitted.

Tobey raised an eyebrow, curious, "Show me," he stated.

Becky blinked, a bewildered look taking hold of her face as she turned to faceTobey, "Show you what?"

"Show me how you dance," Tobey repeated, standing up from his seat, dusting some non existent dust off his pant leg and offering his hand to Becky.

Becky let out a laugh, "Yeah, right, give me one good reason why I should show you how I dance," she shot a glare up at him, arms still crossed.

"Because it's in the script," the narrator spoke up.

Tobey gestured to the disembodied voice with his hand, staring at Becky expectantly.

She groaned, taking the hand Tobey still had extended to her, "Alright, fine," she grumbled, swallowing Tobey to pull her up off the chair, "But, so help me, Tobey McCallister, if you insult me even once, I will kick you in the shin," she threatened, unaware of the fact that neither of them had let go of each other's hand.

Tobey raised his hand, smiling lightly, "I won't make fun of you, McCallister's honor," he promised.

Taking a deep breath, Becky pulled Tobey into one of the corners of the gym that wasn't as occupied. As she guided him to the corner, Tobey spotted his mother giving him a quizzical look, but it was soon replaced with a small smile. She was most likely pleased that Tobey had a friend.

Once at the corner, Becky turned to Tobey, releasing his hand, "Remember—"

"I won't insult you," he cut her short, arms folded behind his back as he waited for her to show him her dancing abilities.

Becky gave him one last look before closing her eyes. After a final wince, she attempted to dance to the beat of the music that was playing through the speakers.

Tobey nearly snorted. He nearly snorted. Without a second thought, he quickly covered his mouth to stifle his sudden giggle fit as he watched Becky dance, ignoring the way his face started to heat up the longer he watched.

Becky stopped dancing when she noticed Tobey's reaction, letting out an annoyed huff and crossing her arms, "I told you I was an awful dancer," she grumbled, glaring at the boy genius.

"No, it—it's not that," Tobey tried through his laughter. He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath to regain his composure, his face still flushed, "It's just…" he trailed off, gnawing on his lower lip in hesitation.

"It's just what?" Beck asked, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently and eyeing Tobey with irritation.

"Yeah, it's just what?" the narrator spoke up, an amusement in his voice, as he already knew the answer to the question.

Tobey shot a quick glare at the disembodied voice before turning his attention back to Becky, offering a nervous smile, "Well, I just, you looked…" Tobey quietly replied, the last bit being muttered into his fist as he shifted his gaze to the side, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What was that? I'm sorry, could you speak up?" Becky cupped a hand over her ear, still glaring hard at Tobey, "Could you say that one more time?"

Tobey swallowed thickly, lightly tugging at his white collared shirt, attempting to cool himself off at the overwhelming heat that was spreading on his face, "I said…" he trailed off chewing on his lower lip, silently debating on if he should tell her the truth or make up a lie.

"Yeah, go on…" Becky pressed, glare unwavering.

With one last deep breath, Tobey closed his eyes, blurting out his response, just as the gym went quiet, "You looked really adorable when you were dancing!" his voice echoed through the silent gym, gaining several people's attention, Scoops and Violet being one of the several.

"I said that really loud, didn't I…?" Tobey's voice was barely even a whisper as he winced at his own idiocy, silently berating himself for even telling the truth in the first place. He really should have just lied, or kept it to himself, but he couldn't help it. She just looked so happy and the way she stuck her tongue out when she danced was so unnecessary, but really cute, and why was he still thinking about this—?

Becky blinked several times, hating the attention that had been put on them with Tobey's sudden outburst, "Yeah, yeah, you really did," she replied, equally as quiet, unable to help the nervous chuckle that left her. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, turning her head to glance at the other students and teachers, and parents—Tobey's mom—, staring at them, all awaiting the outcome of their interaction, "That's a new one, though," she explained, gently punching Tobey in the shoulder, "Never had anyone call me "adorable" before."

"Don't—don't remind me," Tobey muttered, holding his face in his hands to hide how red it had become, "This is so embarrassing. The only thing that would make this more embarrassing is if I was talking to WordGirl…"

Becky let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah, um, so…" she slowly took a step back, "I'm gonna… go… see how my friends are doing, and you, uh…" she cleared her throat, making a finger guns gesture and offering a grin, "I'll see you around, I guess…?"

"If I don't crawl into a hole and die by tomorrow morning," Tobey bitterly replied, running a hand through his hair and giving a light wave to Becky as he walked off to the nearest restroom to hide in for the rest of the night.

Becky spun around and was quickly met with wide smiles from her friends.

"I never knew you and Tobey were interested in each other!" Scoops chirped, making a note of that in his notepad he had out, possibly documenting the entire interaction, "This'll be a great story for the school paper! "A romance blossoming between two rivals!" What a real page turner!" Scoops rambled, practically jumping up and down as he wrote in the notepad, "Too bad I didn't get any pictures," he quietly tagged on, tapping his chin with the tip of his pen.

Violet grinned wide, "It's really sweet that you and Tobey are finally getting along," she said, voice filled with sincerity.

Becky held up her hands, as if to stop them in their tracks, "Whoa, hold on a minute," she started, a small frown on her face, "Tobey and I aren't interested in each other," she explained, "He just complimented me on my dancing skills is all," she muttered, rubbing her arm, stomach twisting with stress.

"But your dance skills are horrible," Scoops replied without thinking, the comment earring him a swift nudge in the side from Violet with her elbow.

"Look, nothing is going on between Tobey and me, it's just a misunderstanding, is all," she stated, exhaustion taking hold of her. She sighed, rubbing her hands over her eyes, "Look, I'm gonna head out early for the night, I'll—"

"Help! Someone is robbing the bank!"

"I'll see you guys later!" Becky quickly finished, turning and running out of the gym, quiety exclaiming, "Word up!" once she was out of sight from everyone.

As she flew to the bank she couldn't help but be thankful for the crime. At least it could get her mind off of that whole embarrassing situation at the dance.


End file.
